Finally (!), Nintendo has announced that the Wii’s News Channel will go live on January 27, 2007, featuring news from Associated Press (AP). The News Channel has appeared on the Wii’s main menu for quite some time, providing the equivalent of a “Coming Soon” link.

Nintendo also announced that Mario Kart 64 will be available next week for download on the Wii’s Shop Channel. The Wii Shop Channel, aka Virtual Console, currently has 42 downloadable games available for purchase, with a few new games available each Monday. The most recent addition to the Channel was Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Super NES, 1 player, 800 Wii Points):.

There are only 34 Wii console games currently available, with the following to be available in stores during the next couple months:

Wii Play with Wii Remote (Feb. 14, Nintendo)

Disney’s Meet the Robinsons (March 27, Buena Vista)

Bust-A-Move Bash (March, Majesco)

Prince of Persia Rival Swords (March, Ubisoft)

TMNT (aka Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, March , Ubisoft)

Bionicle Heroes (March, Eidos)

Blazing Angels Squadrons of WWII (March, Ubisoft)

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 (Q1, EA)

SSX Blur (Q1, EA)

The Godfather Blackhand Edition (Q1, EA)

Medal of Honor Vanguard (Q1, EA)

Sonic and the Secret Rings (Q1, Sega)

Look for Mario Party 8, the first Mario Party for the new system, Q2 2007.